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H 

To  the  Jews  of  America 


THE  JEWISH  CONGRESS 

versus 

THE   AMERICAN  JEWISH 
COMMITTEE 

A  Complete  Statement,  with  the  Correspond- 
ence   between    Louis    D.    Brandeis 
and   Cyrus   Adler 


August,    1915 


Issued  by  the 

JEWISH    CONGRESS  ORGANIZATION  COMMITTEE 

Metropolitan  Life  Building 

1  Madison  Avenue 

New  York 


University  of  California     1 j 

Southern  Regional          iiHimiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiimiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiin 
Library  Facility 


The  Duties  and  Responsibilities  of  the  American 
Jewish  Congress 

By  reason  of  the  war  a  situation  is  presented  which  calls  for  most  careful  con- 
sideration by  the  Jewish  people  of  the  course  which  should  be  pursued  to  advance 
their  interests. 

We  are  convinced  that  the  miseries  of  the  Jews  can  never  be  satisfactorily 
dealt  with  by  merely  relieving  individual  distress,  or  correcting  individual  acts  of 
injustice.  We  are  convinced  that  the  Jews'  main  efforts  should  be  directed  not  to 
charity  but  to  removing  the  causes  which  make  charity  necessary.  To  remove  the 
causes  of  misery  and  injustice,  the  Jews'  thoughts  must  be  directed  less  to  the 
sufferings  of  individual  Jews  than  to  the  wrongs  to  the  Jewish  people.  We  are 
convinced  that  the  wrongs  to  the  Jewish  people  will  not  end  until  full  liberty  is 
attained. 

As  Americans  we  should  all  be  quick  to  recognize  that  when  action  is  con- 
templated on  grave  questions  which  affect  vitally  the  welfare  of  the  whole  Jewish 
people,  methods  and  means  should  be  adopted  under  which  decisions  are  not  made, 
or  action  taken,  until  there  has  been  full  public  discussion ;  and  that  decisions 
affecting  the  Jeivish  people  are  made  only  by  those  Jcivs  who  may  properly  be 
deemed  representative  of  the  whole  people.  Such  consideration  can  be  most  appro- 
priately given  in  a  Congress ;  and  the  members  of  that  Congress  should  clearly 
consist  of  those  who  either  through  existing  organizations  or  other  appropriate 
means  may  be  selected  to  represent  the  whole  people. 

Such  a  Congress  should,  if  it  were  possible,  include  delegates  representing  the 
Jews  of  every  part  of  the  world.  But  this  is  obviously  impossible.  More  than 
10,000,000  of  the  14,000,000  Jews  of  the  world  are  residents  of  the  belligerent 
countries.  These  are  for  that  reason,  and  because  of  the  lamentable  incidents  of 
the  war,  precluded  from  participating  in  any  general  Congress.  The  only  large 
body  of  Jews  in  a  neutral  country  are  the  3,000,000  Jews  of  America.  The  remain- 
ing few  hundred  thousand  Jews  in  neutral  countries  are  scattered  throughout  the 
two  hemispheres.  Upon  the  American  Jews,  therefore,  falls  the  burden  of  acting 
on  behalf  of  their  brethren  throughout  the  world,  and  we  Americans  may  so  act 
with  a  conviction  that  in  so  doing  we  are  representative  of  the  world  Jewry; 
because — 

1.  The  Jewish  problem  is  single  and  universal,  and 

2.  The  3,000,000  Jews  of  America  are  composed  of  immigrants,  or  descendants 
of  immigrants,  coming  from  every  country  and  district,  and  including  persons  from 
every  section  of  society  and  every  shade  of  religious  belief : 

For  these  reasons  it  is  desirable  that  a  Congress  of  American  Jews,  convening 
on  a  democratic  basis,  should  be  held  for  the  consideration  of  the  problems  of  the 
Jewish  people. 

American  Jews  have  not  only  the  right,  but  the  duty  to  act  in  this  matter. 
And  the  duty  resting  upon  us  of  America  is  especially  insistent.  We  are  free  from 
civil  or  political  disability,  and  are  relatively  prosperous.  Our  fellow  Americans 
are  infused  with  a  high  and  generous  spirit,  which  insures  the  approval  of  our 
struggle  to  ennoble,  liberate  and  otherwise  improve  the  condition  of  an  important 
part  of  the  human  race.  The  innate  American  manliness  makes  them  sympathize 
particularly  with  our  efforts  at  self-help.  American  detachment  from  the  Old 
World  problems  relieves  us  from  suspicions  and  embarrassments  attending  the 
activities  of  the  Jews  of  rival  European  countries.  Our  loyalty  to  America  cannot 
be  questioned ;  because  conflict  between  American  interests  and  Jewish  aims  is  not 
conceivable.  The  American  twentieth  century  ideals  and  aspirations — democracy 

(3) 

20988^2 


and  social  justice — are  the  ages-old  ideals  and  aspirations  of  the  Jewish  people. 
This  identity  of  our  ideals  with  those  of  other  Americans,  and  the  happy  position 
of  detachment  of  this  country,  leave  us  free  to  think,  speak  and  act  in  behalf  of 
all  the  Jews  of  the  world. 

The  Congress  should  speak  not  upon  one,  but  on  all  the  issues  involved  in  the 
Jewish  Problem — issues  long  existing,  which  the  war  has  accentuated,  and  upon 
which  a  decision  may  soon  be  demanded.  There  is  the  greater  duty  of  a  Jewish 
Congress  to  consider  every  phase  of  our  great  problem;  because  we  have  reason 
to  know  that  the  world — Jewish  and  non-Jewish,  is  looking  to  us  to  plead  in  the 
greatest  of  all  possible  Jewish  gatherings  for  such  action  as  may  secure  for  our 
people  not  only  full  rights  for  the  individual  but  an  adequate  development  of  the 
Jewish  collective  interest. 

Whether  the  Jewish  problem  shall  now  be  solved  depends  primarily  not  upon 
others,  but  upon  us. 

Let  us  Americans,  therefore,  lead  earnestly,  courageously  and  joyously  in  the 
struggle  for  the  liberation  of  the  Jewish  people.  Let  every  man  and  every  woman 
do  his  or  her  part. 

JEWISH  CONGRESS  ORGANIZATION  COMMITTEE. 

New  York,  August  16,  1915. 


(4) 


Introduction 

We  give  herewith  the  facts  in  the  development  of  the  movement  for  an  Amer- 
ican Jewish  Congress.  Those  who  are  interested  in  this  important  (issue  may  obtain 
therefrom  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  efforts  that  have  been  made  to  secure  unity 
of  action  on  the  part  of  American  Jewry  on  behalf  of  the  great  catastrophe  that 
has  overtaken  the  Jews  living  in  the  war  zone.  The  idea  of  a  Jewish  Congress  has 
been  nurtured  through  twelve  months  of  war ;  first  by  the  Jewish  Emancipation 
Committee,  later  by  the  Jewish  Rights  Congress  Committee,  and  now  by  the  Jewish 
Congress  Organization  Committee,  in  which  are  represented  fourteen  national  organ- 
izations, with  a  membership  of  over  three  hundred  thousand. 

The  whole  question  as  to  the  adequate  consideration  of  the  problems  now 
imminent  has  been  submitted  to  the  American  Jewish  Committee,  which  has  assumed 
responsibility  for  the  proper  handling  of  the  problems  arising  out  of  the  war.  But 
this  organization,  although  assuming  this  responsibility,  has,  during  the  entire  period 
of  the  war,  not  only  done  nothing  to  meet  this  situation,  but  its  president  at  a 
meeting  of  the  New  York  Kehillah  held  on  April  25th,  when  the  question  of 
Congress  arose,  publicly  declared : 

"A  congress  may  lead  to  bad  blood.  You  must  have  facts  if  you  are  to  protest 
against  atrocities  in  other  countries.  What  evidence  have  we  that  these  atrocities 
have  been  committed?  The  reports  that  we  have  received  are  not  proper  grounds 
on  which  to  base  the  action  that  we  propose,  and  rhetoric  can  not  be  used  as  proof 
in  international  affairs." 

The  inactivity  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee  and  its  inability  to  under- 
stand the  seriousness  of  the  situation,  are  reflected  in  extreme  form  by  the 
quoted  remarks  of  Mr.  Marshall.  Because  of  the  imminent  character  of  the  prob- 
lems confronting  the  Jewish  people,  and  because  these  problems  must  and  can  be 
met  by  American  Jewry,  the  movement  for  a  Congress  finally  emerged.  Now,  as 
the  creation  of  responsible  Jewish  organizations,  it  is  prepared  to  meet  the  emer- 
gency by  calling  forth  the  strength  and  power  and  influence  of  the  Jewish  people 
in  the  deliberations  of  an  assembly  organized  on  a  democratic  basis,  to  consider 
the  whole  Jewish  problem  in  all  its  phases. 

To  this  movement  have  rallied  the  Jewish  fraternal  organizations,  congrega- 
tions, labor  unions,  mutual  benefit  societies,  orthodox  rabbis,  Zionists,  non-Zionists, 
nationalists,  leading  Jewlish  philanthropists,  men  and  women  of  all  shades  of  opinion 
and  thought. 

It  is  a  movement  of  the  Jewish  people  determined  in  this  crisis  to  carry  on 
the  responsibilities  which  they  assume. 

We,  the  Jewish  Congress  Organization  Committee,  have  faith  in  the  Jewish 
people. 

The  opponents  of  the  Congress  openly  and  secretly  declare  their  lack  of  faith 
in  the  Jewish  people  and  their  ability  to  choose  proper  leaders. 

We  give  the  whole  record,  omitting  no  fact  necessary  to  an  understanding  of 
the  situation  which  has  arisen  as  a  result  of  the  refusal  of  a  small  organization  to 
subordinate  itself  to  the  will  of  the  majority  of  the  Jewish  people. 

The  facts  speak  for  themselves. 


The  first  public  reference  to  the  calling  of  an  American  Jewish  Congress  to 
grapple  with  the  situation  arising  out  of  the  European  War  was  made  at  the  extraor- 
dinary conference  of  American  Zionists  held  on  Sunday,  August  30th,  1914,  at  the 
Hotel  Marseilles,  New  York,  four  weeks  after  war  was  declared. 

(5) 


FIRST  EXPRESSION  OF  SENTIMENT  ON  JEWISH  CONGRESS 
(From  the  minutes  of  the  Extraordinary  Zionist  Conference,  August  30th,  1914.) 

Dr.  N.  Syrkin,  B.  Zuckerman,  Bernard  G.  Richards  and  others  offered  the 
following  resolution : 

"The  Zionist  Extraordinary  Conference  assembled  empowers  its  Provisional 
Committee  to  take  the  initiative,  within  the  shortest  time  possible,  to  call  a  convention 
of  Jewish  organizations  and  Jewish  committees  for  the  following  purposes: 

"1.  For  the  creation  of  a  relief  fund  to  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  the  Jewish 
population  in  war  districts  and  of  Jewish  refugees. 

"2.    The  maintenance  of  Jewish  institutions  in  Palestine  and  the  Orient. 

"3.  The  discussion  of  the  entire  Jewish  situation  in  regard  to  the  changed 
condition  of  the  world  after  the  war." 

This  resolution  was  referred  to  the  Provisional  Zionist  Committee  for  action. 

FIRST  APPROACH  TO  AMERICAN  JEWISH  COMMITTEE  TO 
CO-OPERATE  IN  CALLING  A  CONGRESS 

(Letter  of  Louis  D.  Brandeis,  Chairman,  to  Louis  Marshall,  Chairman,  dated  August 

31st,  1914.) 

MR.  Louis  MARSHALL, 

President  American  Jewish  Committee. 
Dear  Sir : 

The  Provisional  Committee  for  International  Zionist  Affairs  was  constituted 
at  a  conference  of  representative  Zionists  in  New  York  City,  on  Sunday,  August 
30,  1914.  This  committee  is  to  act  on  behalf  of  the  International  Zionist  Organiza- 
tion pending  the  reconstruction  of  that  organization,  which  has  been  disrupted  by 
the  present  war.  The  Committee  is  endeavoring  to  maintain  and  strengthen  the 
Zionist  organization  and  to  support  such  Palestinian  Institutions  as  have  heretofore 
been  supported  by  that  organization. 

The  Committee  regards  it  also  as  its  function  to  emphasize  the  importance 
of  Palestine  for  the  Jews  of  the  world  in  any  negotiations  that  may  be  entered 
upon  among  the  Powers  before  or  upon  the  conclusion  of  the  war. 

That  any  diplomatic  negotiations  on  behalf  of  the  Jews  shall  have  due  effect, 
the  Committee  believes  that  action  should  be  taken  by  a  united  American  Jewry. 

To  this  end,  this  Committee  invites  you  to  co-operate  with  it  in  calling  a  con- 
ference of  representatives  of  all  the  important  Jewish  organizations  and  groups  in 
the  country. 

For  the  Committee, 

Louis  D.  BRANDEIS, 

Chairman. 

(Reply  of  Louis  Marshall,  Chairman,  to  Louis  D.  Brandeis,  Chairman,  dated  August 

31st,  1914.) 

Louis  D.  BRANDEIS,  ESQ., 

Chairman. 
Dear  Sir : 

Yours  of  this  date,  informing  me  of  the  organization  of  the  Provisional  Com- 
mittee for  International  Zionist  Affairs,  and  of  the  action  taken  at  a  conference  of 
representative  Zionists  held  yesterday,  was  considered  at  a  meeting  of  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee  held  to-day. 

The  Committee,  recognizing  the  critical  situation  of  the  Jews  throughout  the 
world,  as  well  as  in  Palestine,  has  taken  such  action  as  it  has  deemed  proper 
in  the  circumstances  to  deal  with  the  numerous  problems  which  have  arisen  and 
which  are  to  be  anticipated.  It  has  to-day  appropriated  funds  in  aid  of  Bulgarian 

(6) 


and  Palestinian  Jews,  to  a  considerable  amount.  It  has  appointed  a  committee  to 
consider  the  condition  of  the  Jews  throughout  the  world,  in  view  of  the  existing 
war,  and  to  make  such  recommendations  as  are  demanded  by  such  conditions. 
This  Committee  is  to  co-operate  with  all  organizations  which  desire  to  accomplish 
the  same  end. 

It  is  also  engaged  in  making  a  careful  study  of  the  diplomatic  aspects  of  the 
war,  and  the  advisability  of  having  presented  to  the  Powers  such  considerations  as 
may  be  deemed  desirable. 

This  Committee  welcomes  your  co-operation,  and  a  special  committee,  consisting 
of  Dr.  Cyrus  Adler,  Dr.  J.  L.  Magnes  and  myself,  has  been  appointed  to  arrange 
for  a  conference  with  a  like  committee  appointed  by  your  body. 

Very  truly  yours, 

(Signed)  Louis  MARSHALL, 
President,  American  Jewish  Committee. 

HOW  THE  AMERICAN  JEWISH  COMMITTEE  MET  THE  FIRST  OFFER 
TO  CO-OPERATE  IN  A  CALL  FOR  A  JEWISH  CONGRESS 

The  invitation  extended  to  the  Provisional  Zionist  Committee  by  the  American 
Jewish  Committee  was  accepted.  Messrs.  Brandeis,  Gottheil  and  Lipsky  met  Messrs. 
Adler,  Marshall  and  Magnes,  and  discussed  plans  for  calling  a  conference  of 
Jewish  organizations.  A  program  was  submitted  by  the  Zionist  organization,  which 
did  not  reach  the  point  of  discussion  by  the  conferrees,  for  it  was  apparent  that 
the  proposal  made  by  Mr.  Brandeis  in  his  letter  of  August  31st,  1914,  did  not  meet 
with  the  approval  of  the  sub-committee  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee. 

The  American  Jewish  Committee  therefore  called  a  conference  of  Jewish  or- 
ganizations, which  was  held  at  Temple  Emanu-El,  on  October  25,  1914.  Before 
this  meeting  was  held,  however,  the  Independent  Order  B'nai  B'rith  had  set  the 
machinery  of  its  organization  in  motion  for  the  collection  of  relief  funds;  the 
Central  Relief  Committee  had  also  been  formed;  and  the  Provisional  Zionist  Com- 
mittee had  engaged  in  a  large  campaign  for  funds  for  Palestine. 

The  result  of  the  Temple  Emanu-El  meeting  was  the  formation  of  the  American 
Jewish  Relief  Committee.  The  name  given  to  the  Committee  indicates  that  the 
American  Jewish  Committee  aimed  to  identify,  as  far  as  possible,  the  work  of  this 
Committee  with  its  own  activities,  and  this  impression  was  strengthened  by  the  elec- 
tion to  the  principal  offices  of  officers  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee. 

At  the  Temple  Emanu-El  meeting,  the  discussion  centered'  about  relief  work, 
and  no  action  whatsoever  was  considered  bearing  upon  the  holding  of  a  Congress. 

The  American  Jewish  Committee,  in  the  letter  of  Mr.  Marshall  quoted  above, 
intimated  that  it  had  appointed  a  committee  to  consider  the  condition  of  the  Jews 
throughout  the  world  in  view  of  the  existing  war.  He  also  intimated  that  the 
Committee  was  engaged  in  making  a  careful  study  of  the  diplomatic  aspects  of  the 
war  and  the  advisability  of  having  presented  to  the  powers  such  considerations  as 
may  be  deemed  advisable. 

No  official  statement  has  been  made  as  to  the  report  of  the  committee  men- 
tioned, but  the  intimation  that  the  American  Jewish  Committee  was  studying  the 
diplomatic  aspects  of  the  war  and  the  possibility  of  having  presented  to  the  powers 
such  considerations  as  may  be  deemed  advisable  indicates  that  at  that  time  it  had 
no  intention  of  sharing  responsibility  for  any  action  with  any  other  Jewish 
organization. 

Recognizing  the  importance  of  unified  action  in  the  collection  of  funds  for 
the  relief  of  the  distress  of  Jews,  which  every  month  seemed  more  and  more  appall- 
ing, the  Congress  advocates  waived  for  the  time  being  the  question  of  calling  of  a 
Congress,  and  in  common  with  other  organizations  devoted  themselves  to  the  task  of 
collecting  relief  funds. 

(7) 


WHILE  THE  FUNDS  WERE  BEING  COLLECTED 

The  agitation  for  a  Congress  was  soon  taken  up,  however,  by  the  Jewish  press, 
notably  by  the  Jewish  Daily  News,  The  Wahrheit,  and  later  the  Jewish  Leader.  A 
Committee,  of  which  Joseph  Barondess,  member  of  the  Board  of  Education  of 
New  York,  was  the  chairman.  Meetings  were  held  and  discussions  stimulated  in  the 
press. 

Out  of  the  activities  of  these  various  committees  there  finally  emerged  the 
Jewish  Congress  Organization  Committee,  of  which  Mr.  G.  Bublick  is  now  the 
chairman.  In  this  Committee  all  elements  and  organizations  desirous  of  holding  a 
democratic  Jewish  Congress  are  represented.  As  soon  as  any  national  organization 
declared  in  favor  of  a  Congress,  it  sent  its  delegates  to  the  Jewish  Congress  Organ- 
ization Committee. 

THE  QUESTION  COMES  BEFORE  THE  KEHILLAH 

The  agitation  of  this  Committee  was  concentrated  at  the  convention  of  the 
New  York  Kehillah,  which  was  held  on  April  25th,  1915. 

At  this  convention  Louis  Marshall,  reporting  for  the  American  Jewish  Com- 
mittee, failed  to  mention  whether  his  Committee  had  come  to  any  conclusions  as 
a  result  of  its  study  of  war  conditions  or  of  the  diplomatic  aspects  of  the  war.  Re- 
ferring to  the  agitation  for  a  Congress,  he  said : 

"The  American  Jewish  Committee  has  been  unable  to  appreciate  that  any  good 
can  be  wrought  by  the  holding  of  a  Congress,  but,  on  the  contrary,  can  only  behold 
the  possibility  of  infinite  mischief.  It  is  certain  to  result  in  misunderstanding.  Its 
pronouncements  cannot  be  the  result  of  that  careful  study  and  deliberation  which, 
more  than  at  any  other  time  in  our  history,  is  required.  The  ebullitions  of  passion, 
the  expressions  of  emotion,  the  theories  of  the  propagandist  and  the  dreams  of  the 
visionary  will  lead  either  to  misconstruction,  to  ridicule  or  to  antagonism,  in  those 
quarters  where,  above  all  things,  it  is  necessary  to  look  for  sympathy,  and  to 
appeal  to  reason  and  to  considerations  of  expediency." 

Mr.  Marshall  also  reported  that  the  American  Jewish  Committee  had  decided 
to  call  a  conference  at  an  early  date  of  the  leading  Jewish  national  organizations 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  "an  interchange  of  views"  as  to  the  proper  policy  to 
pursue  and  the  methods  to  be  adopted  "for  the  furtherance  of  the  welfare  of  those 
in  whom  we  are  so  much  concerned." 

He  enumerated  twenty-one  organizations  to  be  invited  to  this  conference  at 
which  the  members  were  to  exchange  "views." 

A  resolution  was  presented  to  the  convention  of  the  New  York  Kehillah,  which 
read  as  follows : 

"It  is  recommended  by  the  Convention  of  the  Kehillah  that  the  American  Jew- 
ish Committee,  in  conjunction  with  such  national  organizations  as  may  be  willing 
to  co-operate  with  it  for  that  purpose,  issue  a  call  for  a  Jewish  Congress  to  consider 
the  Jewish  question  and  to  devise  ways  and  means  how  to  place  the  same  on  the 
agenda  of  the  peace  conference." 

This  resolution  was  followed  by  recommendations  for  the  appointment  of  a 
Committee  of  Fifteen  to  devise  a  plan  of  representation. 

After  a  lengthy  discussion,  in  which  Mr.  Marshall,  Mr.  Sulzberger  and  others 
of  the  American  Jewish  Committee  spoke  against  the  resolution,  and  Mr.  Barondess, 
Mr.  Hourwich  and  Mr.  Zuckerman  spoke  in  favor  of  it,  it  was  decided  to  defer 
action  for  one  month,  to  give  the  delegates  an  opportunity  to  consider  the  question, 
and  to  permit  the  American  Jewish  Committee  to  hold  a  conference  which  was 
scheduled  to  be  held  on  May  2nd. 

SECOND  UTTERANCE  OF  ZIONIST  ORGANIZATION 

The  Provisional  Zionist  Committee  adopted,  on  May  9th,  a  resolution  reading 
as  follows : 

(8) 


"That,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Provisional  Executive  Committee  for  General  Zion- 
ist Affairs,  it  is  desirable  that,  at  the  proper  time,  a  congress  of  American  Jews, 
convened  on  a  democratic  basis,  should  be  held  for  a  consideration  of  the  problems 
of  the  Jewish  people." 

On  Sunday,  May  23rd,  the  Order  Free  Sons  of  Israel  met  in  Atlantic  City 
and  adopted  a  resolution  favoring  a  Jewish  Congress. 

The  adjourned  Kehillah  convention  held  on  Sunday,  May  23rd,  adopted  the 
following  resolution : 

THE  KEHILLAH  RESOLUTION  ON  THE  CONGRESS 

"WHEREAS,  This  convention  of  the  Jewish  Community  of  New  York  City  favors 
the  idea  of  holding  a  conference  of  delegates  from  Jewish  societies  throughout 
the  country  chosen  by  their  membership,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  considering  the 
Jewish  question  as  it  affects  our  brethren  in  belligerent  lands,  and  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  the  American  Jewish  Committee  has  heretofore  decided  to  hold  a  conference  to 
which  the  heads  of  the  leading  Jewish  organizations  of  the  country  are  to  be 
invited  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  same  subject,  be  it 

"Resolved,  That  the  Jewish  Community,  as  a  constituent  part  of  the  American 
Jewish  Committee,  recommend  to  the  latter  that  it  hold  a  special  meeting  of  its 
members  with  all  convenient  despatch  to  consider  the  advisability  of  calling  a  con- 
ference of  the  character  favored  by  this  convention  in  lieu  of  the  conference  which 
the  American  Jewish  Committee  has  heretofore  planned." 

Dr.  Hourwich,  the  mover  of  this  compromise  resolution,  explained  that  the 
use  of  the  word  conference  was  a  concession  to  those  who  were  averse  to  the  use 
of  the  word  congress,  but  that  the  compromise  resolution  contained  all  that  was 
in  the  majority  resolution  of  the  preceding  Kehillah  convention. 

This  resolution  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Jacob  H.  Schiff  and  adopted  by  a  vote 
of  82  against  66. 

A  resolution  was  then  adopted  directing  the  Kehillah  representatives  at  the 
special  meeting  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee  to  vote  for  the  above  resolu- 
tion. This  "binding"  resolution  was  adopted  in  spite  of  the  protest  of  Mr.  Marshall, 
Mr.  Sulzberger  and  others.  Mr.  Schiff  was  not  personally  opposed  to  the  resolu- 
tion, but  assured  the  convention  that  the  adopted  compromise  resolution  would  be 
carried  out  faithfully. 


THE  RESOLUTION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  JEWISH  COMMITTEE, 
ADOPTED  JUNE  20TH 

The  special  meeting  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee  was  held  on  June  20th. 
The  session  was  held  behind  closed  doors.  At  this  meeting,  the  Jewish  Congress 
Organization  Committee  sought  to  secure  a  hearing  for  the  congress  idea,  but 
was  denied  admittance,  the  meeting  deciding  the  question  before  the  committee  was 
received. 

There  were  only  eleven  members  of  the  Committee  present  who  were  not  resi- 
dents of  New  York.  These  included  three  from  Philadelphia,  and  one  each  from 
the  following  cities :  Washington,  Providence,  Buffalo,  Newark,  Rochester,  New 
Haven,  Seaford,  Del.,  and  Peoria,  111. 

The  following  is  the  resolution  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee : 

"Resolved,  That  a  conference  be  held  of  delegates  from  Jewish  national 
societies  throughout  the  country,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  considering  the  Jewish 
question  as  it  affects  our  brethren  in  belligerent  lands ; 

"That  the  number  of  delegates  to  this  conference  shall  not  exceed  one  hundred 
and  fifty; 

"That  each  organization  shall  choose  its  delegates  in  such  manner  as  it  may 

(9) 


deem  advisable,  but  it  is  recommended  that  in  the  selection  of  delegates,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  organizations  or  their  governing  bodies  be  enabled  to  express  their  prefer- 
ence for  delegates; 

"That  a  special  committee  of  seven  be  appointed  to  designate  the  organizations 
to  be  invited  to  participate  in  the  conference,  and  to  work  out  a  basis  of  repre- 
sentation for  the  various  organizations  to  be  invited ; 

"That  the  conference  shall  take  place  at  Washington,  D.  C,  as  near  as  pos- 
sible to  October  24,  1915,  and  that  the  several  organizations  which  are  to  par- 
ticipate be  requested  to  select  their  delegates  not  later  than  October  10,  1915 ; 

"That  the  Executive  Committee  be  empowered  to  defer  the  convening  of  the 
conference  if  circumstances  shall  arise  to  render  such  action  advisable." 

Mr.  Marshall  appointed  the  following  special  committee  of  seven  to  take  up  the 
details  of  the  conference:  Dr.  Cyrus  Adler,  Harry  Cutler,  Samuel  Dorf,  Isaac  M. 
Ullman,  Judge  Julian  W.  Mack,  Dr.  J.  L.  Magnes  and  Bernard  Semel. 

CONGRESS  AGITATION  CONTINUES  OWING  TO  REFUSAL  OF  AMER- 
ICAN JEWISH  COMMITTEE  TO  TAKE  INITIATIVE 

The  resolution  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee  adopted  on  June  20th  was 
not  deemed  satisfactory  by  the  advocates  of  the  Congress.  Instead  of  sharing  the 
responsibility  with  other  national  organizations,  the  resolution  of  June  20th  was  so 
framed  as  to  enable  the  American  Jewish  Committee  to  exercise  absolute  control 
over  the  limited  Conference  it  proposed  calling.  The  committee  of  arrangements 
was  a  committee  of  its  own  members.  The  method  of  representation  was  of  its 
own  devising.  The  program  was  deliberately  framed  so  as  to  exclude  from  con- 
sideration questions  that  might  arise  tending  to  perfect  a  permanent  representative 
organization  of  the  Jews  of  America. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  the  Jewish  Congress  Organization  Committee  continued 
its  agitation  in  favor  of  a  Congress,  and  secured  from  a  number  of  additional  organ- 
izations expressions  of  opinion  favorable  to  the  cause. 

The  Federation  of  Russian-Polish  Jews  on  May  30th  in  annual  convention 
had  adopted  a  resolution  favoring  an  American  Jewish  Congress. 

The  Independent  Order  Berith  Abraham  (200,000  members),  meeting  in  Atlantic 
City  on  June  6th,  with  representatives  numbering  twelve  hundred  men,  at  which  a 
committee  of  the  Jewish  Congress  Organization  Committee  appeared,  adopted  a 
resolution  unanimously  endorsing  the  Jewish  Congress  to  be  called  on  democratic 
lines. 

At  the  annual  convention  of  the  Independent  Order  Berith  Sholom  (50,000 
members),  held  on  May  30th,  a  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted,  after  hearing 
an  argument  by  the  Jewish  Congress  Organization  Committee,  favoring  the  holding 
of  a  Jewish  Congress  on  democratic  lines. 

At  the  annual  convention  of  the  Federation  of  Galician  and  Bukowinian  Jews 
(50,000  members),  held  in  New  York,  a  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  favor- 
ing a  Jewish  Congress. 

The  annual  convention  of  the  Independent  Order  Free  Sons  of  Israel  of  Boston 
had  adopted  a  resolution  in  favor  of  a  Jewish  Congress,  on  March  25th. 

THE  CONGRESS  AT  THE  ZIONIST  CONVENTION 

The  Jewish  Congress  Organization  Committee  then  approached  the  Zionist 
organization  and  asked  that  it  co-operate  in  the  calling  of  a  Congress.  The  Con- 
gress Committee  appeared  before  the  session  of  the  Provisional  Zionist  Committee 
at  Boston  on  Sunday,  June  27th,  and  secured  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolu- 
tion, after  a  lengthy  discussion : 

"The  Provisional  Executive  Committee  for  General  Zionist  Affairs,  having  on 
May  9,  1915,  declared  itself  in  favor  of  the  convening  of  an  American  Jewish 
Congress  on  a  democratic  basis, 

"This  conference  of  the  constituent  organizations  of  the  Provisional  Committee 
approves  that  declaration  of  policy.  In  furtherance  thereof,  it  urges  the  Provisional 

(10) 


Committee  to  invite  the  co-operation  of  other  national  Jewish  organizations  in  the 
United  States  to  issue  a  joint  call  for  an  American  Jewish  Congress,  which  shall 
consider  the  proper  steps  to  be  taken  to  obtain  full  civil  status  for  the  Jews  in  all 
lands  and  the  further  development  of  a  home  land  for  the  Jewish  people  in 
Palestine." 

NEGOTIATIONS  WITH  THE  AMERICAN  JEWISH  COMMITTEE 

At  the  request  of  Dr.  Solomon  Solis-Cohen,  a  member  of  the  American  Jewish 
Committee  and  of  the  Zionist  organization,  and  on  the  invitation  and  through  the 
good  offices  of  Judge  Julian  W.  Mack,  Mr.  Brandeis,  after  consulting  the  Jewish 
Congress  Organization  Committee,  agreed  to  meet  Dr.  Cyrus  Adler  and  make  an 
effort  to  secure  unified  action  by  American  Jews  in  the  matter  of  the  congress.  The 
negotiations  are  recorded  in  the  following  correspondence,  which  conference  ended 
with  the  refusal  of  Dr.  Adler  to  submit  the  question  again  to  the  members  of  the 
American  Jewish  Committee,  and  the  issuance  of  the  invitations  to  the  limited 
conference  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee  to  be  held  in  Washington. 

We  submit  this  correspondence  to  the  judgment  of  American  Jewry. 

MINUTES   OF  CONFERENCE  OF  JULY   12   BETWEEN   MR.   BRANDEIS 

AND  DR.  ADLER 

Minutes  of  conference  held  at  the  Hotel  Astor,  New  York  City,  July  12th, 
1915,  beginning  at  four  o'clock  and  lasting  until  six,  between  Dr.  Cyrus  Adler, 
representing  the  American  Jewish  Committee,  and  Mr.  Louis  D.  Brandeis,  repre- 
senting the  Provisional  Executive  Committee  for  General  Zionist  Affairs,  Prof. 
Felix  Frankfurter,  a  member  of  both  organizations,  was  present  at  the  conference. 

Dr.  Adler  explained  the  basis  of  selection  of  the  various  Jewish  organizations 
throughout  the  United  States,  which  the  Jewish  Committee,  tentatively,  had  in  mind 
to  invite  to  a  proposed  Conference  (throughout  the  discussion  Dr.  Adler  used  the 
term  "Conference"  and  Mr.  Brandeis  spoke  of  a  "Congress")  and  the  number  of 
votes  to  be  allotted  to  each  of  these  organizations  in  such  a  Conference,  the  total 
not  to  exceed  a  membership  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  representatives.  Mr.  Brandeis 
stated  that  the  number  of  delegates,  the  size  of  the  Congress,  did  not  appear  to  him 
a  matter  of  vital  moment,  but  the  basis  of  the  inception  of  such  a  Congress,  the 
manner  of  the  selection  of  its  delegates,  was  a  vital  matter.  Mr.  Brandeis,  there- 
fore, suggested  that  Dr.  Adler  and  he  select,  from  the  tentative  list  of  organiza- 
tions which  Dr.  Adler  submitted,  a  nucleus  of  from  twelve  to  twenty-four  organiza- 
tions, representatives  of  which  should  be  invited  to  a  preliminary  conference,  whose 
purpose  it  should  be,  in  turn,  to  invite  all  appropriate  Jewish  organizations  of  the 
United  States  to  meet  in  a  national  Congress,  to  formulate  the  basis  of  membership 
in  such  a  Congress,  the  number  and  method  of  selecting  the  delegates  to  such  a 
Congress,  and  questions  of  like  nature. 

As  a  result  of  the  discussion  following  this  suggestion,  a  modified  proposal 
was  made  that  there  be  called  a  preliminary  conference.  Just  as  Mr.  Brandeis 
though  that  no  one  organization  or  two  can  or  should  assume  the  responsibility  or 
authority  of  inviting  the  rest  of  the  country  in  Congress,  so  Dr.  Adler  suggested  that 
a  larger  preliminary  selecting  committee  be  called  as  a  preliminary  committee,  to 
invite  representatives  of  other  organizations  for  a  pre-preliminary  conference,  to  for- 
mulate all  the  questions  for  the  final  Conference,  or  Congress.  He  suggested  that  such 
a  preliminary  body  consist  of  the  organizations  to  whom,  in  the  list  of  organizations 
submitted  to  Mr.  Brandeis,  he  had  allotted  seven  and  five  votes,  respectively,  Mr. 
Brandeis  suggested  that  he  desired  to  consider,  with  his  associates,  the  list  sub- 
mitted by  Dr.  Adler  for  the  preliminary  committee,  and  subsequently  meet  Dr. 
Adler  for  further  consideration  of  the  matter.  Dr.  Adler  suggested  that  his 
executive  committee  meets  to-morrow,  Tuesday,  and  that  it  would  be  desirable 
to  submit  to  his  committee  the  results  of  the  interview,  as  well  as  have  Mr.  Brandeis 

(11) 


consider  the  results  of  the  interview  with  his  associates.    To  this  end,  a  minute  of 
the  meeting  was  to  be  prepared,  which  Prof.  Frankfurter  was  asked  to  draw. 

FELIX  FRANKFURTER. 

LETTER  OF  DR.  ADLER  TO  MR.  BRANDEIS,  DATED  JULY  21ST 

New  York,  July  21,  1915. 
Dear  Mr.  Brandeis: 

I  am  authorized  to  inform  you  that  the  memorandum,  prepared  by  Professor 
Frankfurter,  representing  in  brief  the  results  of  our  conference  of  July  12th,  was 
laid  before  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee. 

After  a  full  discussion,  the  following  resolution  was  adopted : 

"Resolved,  That  the  Chairman  be  instructed  that  it  is  the  sense  of  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee  that  the  plan,  purpose  and  scope  of 
the  Conference  heretofore  decided  upon  by  the  General  Committee  at  a  special 
meeting  held  on  June  20th,  1915,  be  adhered  to,  with  the  modification  that  instead  of 
the  call  for  the  Conference  being  signed  by  the  American  Jewish  Committee  alone, 
the  following  organizations  be  invited  to  sign  the  call,  the  Chairman  to  have  the 
power  to  modify  immaterial  details :  Arbeiter  Ring,  Federation  of  American  Zion- 
ists, Federation  of  Galician  and  Bukowinean  Jews,  Independent  Order  B'nai  B'rith, 
Independent  Order  B'rith  Abraham,  Independent  Order  B'rith  Sholom,  Order  B'rith 
Abraham,  Union  of  American  Hebrew  Congregations." 

Let  me  say  in  explanation  that  our  Committee  favored  your  suggestion  that  it 
would  be  sufficient  if  you  with  your  associates  should  agree  with  our  Committee  as 
to  organizations  to  be  invited  and  the  number  of  representaatives  assigned  to  each, 
thus  obviating  the  necessity  of  a  preliminary  conference.  On  the  other  hand,  they 
felt  that  my  suggestion  that  a  number  of  organizations  should  join  in  the  call  was 
likely  to  produce  a  more  favorable  result. 

With  regard  to  the  purpose  and  scope  of  the  Conference,  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee felt  that  it  was  without  power  to  change  these.  They  were  adopted  at  a 
meeting  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee  especially  called  for  the  purpose,  and 
the  Executive  Committee  regards  itself  as  bound  by  the  terms  of  the  resolutions, 
a  copy  of  which  is  inclosed  herewith.  The  reason  for  the  limitation  of  the  scope 
of  the  Conference  is  that  such  limitation  is  representative  of  the  dominant  issue 
before  the  Jews  of  America  and  the  Jews  of  the  world,  and  it  was  deemed  inad- 
visable to  obscure  the  issue  with  any  other  subject. 

I  am,  as  you  will  note,  given  the  discretion,  in  conference  with  you,  to  modify 
details  such  as  would  not  materially  change  the  main  proposition.  As  soon  as  you 
find  it  possible  to  continue  the  discussion,  I  shall  be  glad  to  arrange  with  you  for 
a  further  meeting. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

CYRUS  ADLER, 
Chairman,  Executive  Committee. 

REPLY  OF  MR.  BRANDEIS  TO  DR.  ADLER,  DATED  JULY  28 

July  28,  1915. 
My  dear  Dr.  Adler : 

I  have  yours  of  the  21st  transmitting  the  vote  of  your  Executive  Committee, 
which  rejects  in  substance  the  proposal  submitted  by  me  to  you  on  July  12,  1915,  for 
co-operation  between  the  American  Jewish  Committee,  the  Zionists  and  the  other 
national  organizations  in  calling  a  Congress  on  a  democratic  basis  to  consider  the 
problems  of  the  Jewish  people. 

The  vote  of  your  Executive  Committee  declares  "that  the  plan,  purpose,  and 
scope  of  the  Conference  heretofore  decided  upon  by  the  General  Committee  at  a 
special  meeting  on  June  20,  1915,  be  adhered  to"  except  that  "instead  of  the  call 
for  the  Conference  being  signed  by  the  American  Jewish  Committee  alone,"  eight 
other  organizations  named  by  it  "be  invited  to  sign  the  call,"  and  that  the  Chairman 

(12) 


"have  power  to  modify  immaterial  details."  You  also  state  that  your  "Executive 
Committee  felt  that  it  was  without  power  to  change  the  purpose  and  scope  of  the 
Conference,"  and  that  "the  reason  for  the  limitation  of  the  scope  of  the  Conference 
is  that  such  limitation  is  representative  of  the  dominant  issue  before  the  Jews  of 
America,"  etc. 

The  single  modification  named  by  your  Executive  Committee  appears  to  us  of 
no  significance.  Even  though  adopted,  it  would  leave  in  full  force  all  the  funda- 
mental objections  to  the  Conference  plan  as  originally  proposed  by  your  Committee. 
The  Conference  would  still  remain  thoroughly  undemocratic.  It  would  still  not  be 
co-operative.  Its  scope  would  still  be  so  limited  as  to  preclude  the  consideration 
of  certain  matters  which  might  be  deemed  vital  to  the  welfare  of  the  Jews.  The 
fact  that  your  power  as  Chairman  is  by  the  vote  expressly  limited  to  the  modifi- 
cation of  "immaterial  details,"  leads  me  to  urge  most  earnestly,  that  before  you 
and  I  meet  again  for  a  further  discussion  of  this  subject,  the  whole  matter  be 
referred  to  your  General  Committee,  in  order  that  the  General  Committee  may 
take  such  action  as  is  required  to  permit  your  Executive  Committee  and  yourself 
to  deal  with  the  matter  broadly,  in  accordance  with  the  widely  expressed  will  of 
the  Jews  of  America. 

When  this  matter  is  laid  again  before  your  General  Committee,  I  trust  you 
will  make  clear  to  them  the  grounds  of  objection  to  your  Committee's  Conference 
plan  which  I  set  forth  at  our  meeting  on  July  12th,  namely: 

First :  Your  Committee's  Conference  plan  is  undemocratic.  Democracy  de- 
mands that  those  representatives  of  the  Jews  of  America  who  are  -to  assemble  in 
Conference  to  take  action  concerning  the  problems  of  the  Jewish  people,  shall  have 
some  voice  in  determining  the  conditions  under  which  the  conference  shall  convene 
and  the  scope  of  its  deliberations.  Your  Committee  has  assumed  to  determine  these 
matters  itself;  to  determine  in  advance  not  only  when  and  where  the  Conference 
shall  be  held;  what  the  aggregate  number  of  delegates  shall  be;  which  organiza- 
tions shall  be  permitted  to  send  delegates;  and  what  number  of  representatives 
each  such  organization  shall  have;  but  also  what  its  plan  and  scope  shall  be. 
Obviously,  the  mere  formality  now  proposed  by  your  Executive  Committee  of  hav- 
ing certain  other  organizations  selected  by  it  sign  with  the  American  Jewish 
Committee  the  call  to  the  Conference,  would  not  make  the  proceeding  any  less 
undemocratic.  So  fundamental  an  objection  as  lack  of  democratic  character  can 
be  removed  only  by  a  change  equally  fundamental.  All  national  organizations  must 
be  given  some  voice  in  determining  the  conditions,  plan  and  scope  of  the  Conference 
or  Congress.  It  was  to  this  end  that  I  proposed  that  your  Committee  join  ours 
in  inviting  the  leading  national  organizations — say  12,  24  or  more,  to  each  send  one 
delegate  to  a  preliminary  conference  which  should  determine  when,  where  and 
how  a  Congress  should  be  called,  and  also  the  number  of  delegates ;  how  they  should 
be  selected ;  and  generally  the  plan  of  the  Congress,  and  that  its  scope  to  be  set 
forth  in  the  call  be  broadly  the  problems  of  the  Jewish  people,  so  that  the  Congress 
itself  might  determine  after  full  discussion,  what  particular  subjects  it  shall  act  upon. 

Second:  Your  Committee's  Conference  plan  is  not  co-operative.  Co-operation 
demands  that  those  who  are  to  work  together  shall  all  have  the  opportunity,  as  well 
as  the  responsibility,  of  sharing  in  important  fundamental  determinations.  The  con- 
ditions under  which  the  Congress  (or  Conference)  shall  be  held,  who  should  par- 
ticipate, the  extent  of  participation,  how  the  delegates  shall  be  selected,  and  generally 
the  plan  and  scope,  are  of  the  very  essence  of  the  Congress.  But  your  plan  vests 
this  grave  responsibility  in  the  American  Jewish  Committee  alone,  and  precludes 
others  from  participating  in  the  determination  of  these  matters. 

Third:  Your  Committee's  Conference  plan,  according  to  your  letter,  places  a  limita- 
tion upon  the  scope  of  the  deliberations,  which  limitation  may  greatly  impair,  if  not 
wholly  defeat,  the  usefulness  of  the  Conference  (or  Congress).  Your  Committee 
undertakes  to  decide  (in  advance)  for  the  Jews  of  America  what  they  shall  and  what 
they  shall  not  discuss,  and  within  what  limit  they  may  act  in  Conference  (on 
Congress)  assembled.  Is  it  not  clear  that  neither  the  American  Jewish  Committee 
nor  the  Zionist  Committee,  acting  alone  or  acting  jointly,  should  arrogate  to  itself 

(13) 


or  themselves  the  function  of  determining  on  what  subjects  the  Conference  (or 
Congress)  should  act.  Neither  of  our  Committees  acting  separately  can  justly  claim 
to  represent  all  the  Jews  of  America,  nor  can  two  committees  jointly  justly  make 
such  a  claim.  Neither  of  our  Committees  acting  separately,  nor  the  two  jointly,  has 
any  mandate  which  entitles  it  or  them  to  determine  in  advance  (without  even 
consulting  the  other  national  organizations)  what  measure  may  best  subserve  the 
interest  of  the  Jewish  people. 

Fourth:  The  dangers  incident  to  the  method  adopted  by  the  American  Jewish 
Committee  in  assuming  to  determine  alone  and  make  itself  entirely  responsible  for 
all  the  component  elements  in  such  a  Conference  (or  Congress)  is  exhibited  by 
the  "List  of  organizations  to  be  invited  to  participate  in  the  Jewish  Conference," 
of  which  you  were  good  enough  to  hand  me  a  copy.  Taking  three  of  the  organ- 
izations of  kindred  type  there  named,  I  find  your  Committee  has  allotted  to  their 
respective  memberships  the  following  disproportionate  delegate  rights  : 

To  one  with  84,000  members,  5  delegates. 
To  one  with  4,000  members,  2  delegates. 
To  one  with  40,000  members,  1  delegate. 

In  pursuance  of  your  valuable  suggestion,  Professor  Frankfurter  (who  is  a 
member  both  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee  and  of  the  Zionist  organization) 
was  invited  to  be  present  when  you  and  I  were  to  discuss  this  matter  at  Hotel  Astor 
on  July  12th.  I  venture  to  suggest  now,  that  a  special  effort  be  made  to  insure 
his  attendance  at  the  meeting  of  your  General  Committee  to  be  called  for  the  dis- 
cussion of  this  subject;  because  he  could  aid  you  most  effectively  in  presenting  to 
your  Committee  die  views  which  I  expressed  at  our  July  12th  meeting. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Louis  D.  BRANDEIS. 

DR.  ABLER  CHARGES  BREACH  OF  NEGOTIATIONS 
On  July  28th,  1915,  Dr.  Adler  sent  the  following  letter  -to  Mr.  Brandeis : 

July  28,  1915. 
Dear  Mr.  Brandeis: 

Pending  receipt  of  a  reply  from  you  to  my  communication  on  behalf  of  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee,  dated  July  21st  and 
delivered  at  the  office  of  the  Federation  of  American  Zionists,  44  East  23rd  street,  by 
messenger  on  that  day,  I  beg  to  bring  to  your  attention  a  copy  of  a  circular  letter 
issued  by  the  Federation  of  American  Zionists  on  the  22nd  inst. 

I  do  not  believe  that,  pending  negotiations  upon  which  we  entered  in  all  loyalty 
and  with  the  fullest  desire  to  bring  about  co-operation,  you  have  sanctioned  a  policy 
on  behalf  of  an  organization  so  closely  connected  with  the  Provisional  Executive 
Committee  for  General  Zionists  Affairs  as  is  the  Federation  of  American  Zionists, 
to  bring  about  a  series  of  agitations  throughout  the  country  aiming  to  influence 
these  negotiations.  I  feel  sure  that  you  will  have  this  action  disavowed. 

Faithfully  yours, 

(Signed)    CYRUS  ADLER. 

FEDERATION  OF  AMERICAN  ZIONISTS 

44  East  23rd  Street,  New  York, 

July  22,  1915. 
Dear  Comrade: 

The  status  of  our  negotiations  with  the  American  Jewish  Committee  in  our 
attempt  to  secure  unity  of  action  on  the  Jewish  Congress  issue,  makes  it  necessary 
that  throughout  the  United  States  a  public  demonstration  be  made  expressive  of  the 
feelings  of  American  Jews  with  regard  to  this  important  question.  It  is  desirable 
and  urgent  that  every  Zionist  use  his  influence  to  call  local  conferences,  mass-meet- 

(14) 


ings,  etc.,  to  have  resolutions  adopted,  ENDORSING  UNEQUIVOCALLY  THE  RESOLUTION  OF 
THE  PROVISIONAL  COMMITTEE  ADOPTED  AT  BOSTON,  in  effect: 

THAT  A  JEWISH  CONGRESS  BE  HELD,  CALLED  JOINTLY  BY  JEWISH  ORGANIZATIONS, 
AND  ORGANIZED  ON  A  democratic  basis,  which  shall  discuss  the  whole  Jewish  problem 
in  all  its  phases ; 

THAT  NO  LIMITED  CONFERENCE  CAN  TAKE  THE  PLACE  OF  SUCH  A  CONGRESS,  AND 

THAT  SHOULD  SUCH  A  LIMITED  CONFERENCE  BE  HELD,  IT  WOULD  NOT  BE  REPRESENTATIVE 
OF  THE  SENTIMENTS  AND  DESIRES  OF  THE  JEWS  OF  AMERICA. 

We  appeal  to  you  to  use  all  your  energies  during  the  next  few  weeks  to  secure 
such  an  expression  of  opinion  from  your  community,  and  that  you  aid  in  having 
that  opinion  given  the  widest  and  most  effective  publicity. 

It  is  important  that  you  report  to  this  office  the  results  of  your  activity. 
Immediate  action  is  imperative. 

With  Zion's  greetings, 

Louis  LIPSKY, 

Chairman. 


AMERICAN   JEWISH   COMMITTEE   REJECTS   REQUEST   FOR   SPECIAL 

MEETING  OF  ITS  MEMBERS  AND  ISSUE  ITS  INVITATION 

TO  A  CONFERENCE 

(Letter  of  Dr.  Adler  to  Mr.  Brandeis,  dated  August  3rd,  1915) 

New  York,  August  3,  1915. 
Dear  Mr.  Brandeis: 

I  have  your  letter  of  July  28th,  in  which  you  urge  that  before  we  meet  again 
for  the  further  discussion  of  the  subject  of  a  Conference,  the  American  Jewish 
Committee  be  reconvened  for  the  purpose  of  reconsidering  its  vote  of  June  20th,  in 
regard  to  the  plan,  purpose  and  scope  of  such  a  Conference.  I  am  satisfied  that  no 
result  will  follow  the  adoption  of  this  suggestion.  The  American  Jewish  Committee 
met  in  special  session  on  June  20,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  considering  this  subject. 
It  had  been  a  matter  for  discussion  ever  since  September,  1914,  with  various  com- 
mittees and  in  the  Executive  Committee.  On  the  occasion  of  its  special  meeting, 
the  American  Jewish  Committee  had  before  it  the  resolutions  of  one  of  its  largest 
constituencies — the  Jewish  Community  of  New  York  City.  The  resolutions  that 
were  adopted  were  a  modification  of  a  previously  proposed  plan  for  the  assembling 
of  a  conference  consisting  of  the  president  and  one  other  of  every  national  Jewish 
organization  in  the  United  States,  willing  to  confer.  Practically  all  the  considerations 
and  arguments  brought  forward  by  yourself  at  our  conference  of  July  12  were  pre- 
sented at  the  meeting  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee  on  June  20. 

The  resolutions  of  which  you  are  aware  were  adopted  after  deliberate  and  care- 
ful consideration  of  all  the  arguments  and  by  men  representing  all  shades  of  Jewish 
opinion  and  from  various  sections  of  the  country.  They  were  believed  to  be  in  the 
best  interests  of  our  brethren  abroad  affected  by  the  war  and  its  consequences,  with- 
out in  any  way  jeopardizing  the  interests  of  the  Jews  in  America  or  interfering 
with  the  proper  pursuits  or  the  autonomy  of  any  existing  organization. 

You  seem  to  take  for  granted  that  in  a  matter  of  this  kind  the  American  Jewish 
Committee  stands  upon  a  footing  exactly  similar  to  that  of  the  Federation  of 
American  Zionists,  or  of  other  national  bodies.  May  I  point  out  to  you  that  this 
interpretation  can  hardly  be  maintained  upon  a  careful  examination  of  the  facts. 
Among  the  approximately  forty  Jewish  organizations  of  national  scope  in  the  United 
States,  the  great  majority  were  founded  for  specific  purposes — religious,  educa- 
tional, philanthropic,  mutual  benefit,  fraternal — all  the  various  forms  of  activity 
which  have  from  time  to  time  developed  in  American  Jewish  life.  Your  own  organ- 
ization has  for  its  basic  purpose  the  securing  of  "a  publicly  and  legally  recognized 

(15) 


home  for  the  Jewish  people  in  Palestine."  Now,  if  you  will  contrast  these  special 
purposes  with  those  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee  as  recited  in  its  charter, 
as  follows,  I  think  you  will  be  constrained  to  admit  that  it  is  incumbent  upon  the 
American  Jewish  Committee  to  do  exactly  that  which  it  is  now  doing;  that  if  it  did 
not  take  the  steps  which  it  has  taken  it  would  shirk  the  obligations  which  have 
been  placed  upon  it : 

"The  objects  of  this  corporation  shall  be,  to  prevent  the  infraction 
of  the  civil  and  religious  rights  of  Jews,  in  any  part  of  the  world;  to 
render  all  lawful  assistance  and  to  take  appropriate  remedial  action  in 
the  event  of  threatened  or  actual  invasion  or  restriction  of  such  rights, 
or  of  unfavorable  discrimination  with  respect  thereto;  to  secure  for 
Jews  equality  of  economic,  social  and  educational  opportunity;  to  allevi- 
ate the  consequences  of  persecution  and  to  afford  relief  from  calamities 
affecting  Jews,  wherever  they  may  occur;  and  to  compass  these  ends  to 
administer  any  relief  fund  which  shall  come  into  its  possession  or  which 
may  be  received  by  it,  in  trust  or  otherwise,  for  any  of  the  aforesaid 
objects  or  for  purposes  comprehended  therein." 

You  speak  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee  "assuming"  to  do  certain  things, 
and  "arrogating"  to  itself  certain  powers.  Let  me  assure  you  and  your  associates 
that  such  expressions  are  very  wide  of  the  mark.  The  American  Jewish  Committee, 
neither  collectively  nor  through  any  individual  member,  is  "assuming"  or  "arro- 
gating." It  is  with  great  reluctance  and  a  deep  sense  of  responsibility  that  the 
American  Jewish  Committee  took  up  a  burden  which  no  one  else  had  been  found 
willing  to  bear. 

At  the  risk  of  reciting  what  may  perhaps  be  already  well-known  to  you,  I  venture 
to  point  out  that,  whereas  in  the  course  of  the  settlement  and  development  of  the 
Jewish  people  in  the  United  States,  now  a  matter  approaching  three  hundred  years, 
there  had  grown  up  numerous  local  organizations  for  specific  purposes,  which  prop- 
ably  number  in  all  about  ten  thousand,  and  that  for  the  purpose  of  co-ordinating 
these  special  organizations  they  had  been  federated,  more  or  less  loosely,  into  some 
forty  organizations  of  national  scope,  it  happened  that  when  a  great  emergency  arose 
in  the  condition  of  our  brethren  in  Russia  at  the  time  of  the  Kishineff  massacres  in 
1905,  there  existed  no  central  body  to  grapple  with  these  conditions  and  there  had 
to  be  brought  together  hastily  and  practically  without  consultation  a  small  committee 
in  New  York  City,  which,  however,  met  the  need  with  the  greatest  efficiency. 

When  this  crisis  had  passed,  the  men  who  had  been  foremost  in  doing  this  work 
themselves  felt  that  it  was  necessary  to  aid  in  creating  an  organization  which,  in 
ordinary  times  should  maintain  a  modest  existence  but,  when  occasion  demanded, 
serve  as  a  central  point  for  bringing  about  united  and  effective  action. 

Conferences  to  which  all  the  national  Jewish  organizations  were  invited  to  send 
representatives  were  held,  and  as  a  consequence  the  American  Jewish  Committee 
was  formed  upon  as  truly  representative  a  basis  as  it  was  then  possible  to  attain. 
Thereafter,  all  the  great  national  Jewish  organizations  were  invited  to  representa- 
tion at  large.  Some  accepted  and  some  declined.  When  the  creation  of  com- 
munities began,  these  were  sought  and  incorporated  as  constituencies  of  the 
American  Jewish  Committee;  and  wherever  such  organized  communities  exist  the 
members  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee  for  the  given  district  are  elected  by 
the  Community  and  by  it  alone. 

In  view  of  these  facts  and  the  further  consideration  that  there  is  now  incor- 
porated in  the  membership  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee  every  shade  of 
Jewish  opinion  without  distinction,  I  do  not  think  that  it  can  be  seriously  denied 
that,  whereas  the  other  national  Jewish  organizations  represent  some  part  of  the 
activities  of  the  American  Jews,  the  American  Jewish  Committee  has  gathered 
within  itself  the  representation  of  the  whole  of  such  activities. 

I  cannot  but  feel  therefore  that  you  and  your  associates  and  those  committees 
that  are  now  engaged  in  making  propaganda  against  the  American  Jewish  Com- 

(16) 


mittee,  have  not  given  due  weight  either  to  the  large  general  purposes  of  the 
American  Jewish  Committee  or  to  its  genuinely  representative  and  democratic 
character. 

At  such  a  grave  crisis,  I  would  not  be  disposed  to  discuss  mere  phrases,  but 
since  both  in  our  interview  and  in  your  communication  you  constantly  reiterate 
the  charge  that  the  methods  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee  are  undemocratic,  I 
feel  constrained  to  insist  that  your  strictures  are  not  justified,  at  least  if  you  are 
employing  the  word  "democracy"  in  its  customary  meaning  in  the  United  States. 

You  state  that  the  danger  incident  to  the  method  adopted  by  the  American 
Jewish  Committee  is  exhibited  by  the  list  of  organizations  to  be  invited  to  partici- 
pate in  the  conference.  May  I  remind  you  that  the  statement  that  the  American 
Jewish  Committee  itself  selected  the  organizations  to  be  invited  can  be  considered 
as  true  in  the  merest  technical  sense  but  not  actually  so  in  fact.  The  list  of  organ- 
izations is  as  objective  as  any  list  can  possibly  be.  It  was  based  upon  the  proof- 
sheets  of  the  forthcoming  American  Jewish  Year  Book.  It  included  all  the 
organizations  listed  there  as  "national,"  except  those  which  were  purely  auxiliary, 
juvenile,  or  known  not  to  be  entitled  to  be  called  "national"  by  reason  of  the 
limitation  of  their  scope  to  a  given  State  by  the  terms  of  their  charters. 

I  handed  you  these  proof-sheets  showing  the  exact  reason  for  the  elimination 
of  each  society  not  included  among  those  to  be  invited ;  these,  I  understood,  you 
were  to  consider  with  your  associates,  and  I  was  and  am  prepared  to  discuss  with 
you  any  modifications  of  either  the  list  or  the  representation  granted. 

The  representation,  I  may  say,  has  been  based  on  three  guiding  principles : 
(1)  The  number  of  members  in  each  organization;  (2)  the  diversified  interests  of 
the  Jews  of  America;  (3)  the  geographical  distribution  of  the  Jewish  population 
in  America. 

With  regard  to  the  list  itself,  you  have  furnished  me  with  no  criticism  what- 
soever. You  have  called  my  attention  to  the  apparently  disproportionate  delegate 
rights,  but  since  the  proof-sheets  of  the  American  Jewish  Year  Book  containing 
explanatory  statements  are  still  in  your  possession  and  I  have  no  copy,  and  you 
do  not  give  me  the  names  of  the  organizations  referred  to,  I  cannot  very  intelligently 
discuss  your  criticism.  I  may  point  out  to  you,  however,  that  in  dealing  with  the 
representation  of  the  organizations,  the  special  committee  (which  consisted  of  Mr. 
Harry  Cutler,  Mr.  Samuel  Dorf,  Judge  Julian  W.  Mack,  Dr.  J.  L.  Magnes,  Mr. 
Bernard  Semel,  Mr.  Isaac  M.  Ullman,  and  myself)  very  carefully  considered  not 
only  the  membership  but  also  the  character  of  the  organization  in  each  case. 
Organizations  of  congregations,  where  the  numbers  seem  small  in  comparison  with 
those  of  the  fraternal  orders,  were  nevertheless  given  what  might  appear  propor- 
tionately larger  representation,  because  it  was  borne  in  mind  that  the  membership  of 
congregations  is  usually  stated  by  heads  of  families  and  does  not  furnish  a  definite 
criterion  of  the  number  of  souls  represented.  Rabbinical  Associations  which,  of 
course,  are  limited  in  number,  being  composed  of  a  small  body  of  men,  were  never- 
theless granted  an  apparently  large  representation  because  the  rabbi  is,  in  most 
communities,  the  acknowledged  representative  of  the  opinions  of  anywhere  from  200 
to  1,000  persons.  The  three  Jewish  colleges,  though  small  in  numbers,  were  never- 
theless, after  careful  consideration,  each  assigned  one  delegate,  because  it  was 
the  opinion  of  the  committee  that  in  a  conference  of  this  kind  the  scholarly  and 
historical  view  would  prove  of  value  in  the  deliberations.  The  Zionist  organization 
itself,  which,  of  course,  cannot  show  such  large  numbers  as  some  of  the  fraternal 
orders  and  workingmen's  societies,  was  nevertheless  given  as  high  a  number  of 
delegates  as  was  assigned  to  any  organization,  because  of  the  recognition  of  the 
great  interest  (an  interest,  I  may  say,  not  limited  by  any  means  to  Zionists)  which 
that  organization  has  in  Palestine,  which  must  undoubtedly  form  one  of  the  im- 
portant subjects  in  the  deliberations  of  the  Conference. 

You  may  recall  that  I  informed  you  that  the  Committee  did  not  assign  the 
full  number  of  delegates,  leaving  thirty  vacancies  to  be  filled  later  either  by  the 
inclusion  of  organizations  entitled  to  representation,  which  may  not  have  been 

(17) 


known  heretofore  as  national  organizations,  or  by  increasing  the  number  in  indi- 
vidual cases,  should  the  apportionment  of  the  committee  have  been  found  unsatis- 
factory. Again,  the  filling  of  these  thirty  vacancies  was  a  subject  left  open  for 
discussion  at  a  further  meeting  which  I  hoped  we  might  have,  and  by  consultation 
with  the  representatives  of  other  important  Jewish  national  organizations.  Upon 
this  point,  we  claim  no  finality.  Such  questions  and  even  those  of  the  time  and 
place  of  meeting  were  some  of  the  details  which  I  was  given  the  power  to  modify 
in  a  meeting  with  you. 

I  cannot  admit  that  the  limitation  of  the  Conference  to  150  persons  is  in  any 
way  indicative  of  an  undemocratic  or  unco-operative  spirit,  if  a  representative  con- 
ference is  to  be  held  for  any  effective  purpose.  The  one  hundred  million  people 
of  the  United  States  are  represented  by  a  Congress  which,  in  both  houses,  is  not 
much  larger  than  500  men.  The  great  commonwealths  like  New  York,  Pennsylvania, 
Illinois,  Massachusetts,  and  Ohio,  to  cite  but  a  few,  whose  populations  range  from 
eight  millions  to  two  and  one-half  millions,  have  legislatures,  which,  including  the 
senates,  do  not  exceed  at  the  maximum  257  men ;  and  in  some  states,  whose  popula- 
tions approach  three  millions,  the  legislatures  are  limited  to  about  150.  It  was 
through  such  considerations  and  the  fact  that  the  largest  estimate  of  the  Jews  in 
the  United  States  heretofore  made  places  the  sum  at  less  than  three  million  that  the 
number  one  hundred  and  fifty  members  of  the  Conference  was  reached. 

The  direct  proportionate  representation  of  organizations  based  upon  numbers 
alone  seems  to  me  neither  fair  nor  wise,  and  certainly  not  in  accord  with  the 
methods  which  prevail  in  such  matters  in  the  United  States.  Even  if  the  Conference 
were  not  limited  in  scope,  some,  if  not  many,  of  the  questions  which  may  be 
brought  up  for  consideration  would  undoubtedly  have  an  important  international 
bearing.  Under  our  system,  the  responsibility  for  these  affairs  is  placed  in  large 
measure  upon  the  Executive  himself,  and  in  many  cases  only  with  the  advice  of  the 
Senate,  a  body  in  which  Rhode  Island  has  an  equal  voice  with  New  York.  Since  it 
would  have  been  neither  prudent  nor  feasible  to  establish  two  houses  in  such  a 
Conference,  a  modified  system  of  representation  must  be  employed  in  order  that 
all  interests  of  the  Jews  shall  have  a  voice,  that  the  Jewish  residents  of  all  states 
shall  have  at  least  one  representative,  and  that  at  the  same  time  reasonable  weight 
be  given  to  the  numbers  in  the  various  national  organizations. 

I  have  recited  at  some  length  the  principles  which  guided  us  in  the  preparation 
of  the  list  to  which  you  object,  because  I  hope  that  you  will  appreciate  the  fact 
that  the  matter  has  been  considered  from  every  angle  in  view  of  the  very  special 
conditions  before  us. 

You  have  laid  special  stress  upon  the  limitation  of  the  scope  of  the  deliberations 
which  you  think  may  greatly  impair  if  not  wholly  defeat  the  usefulness  of  the 
Conference,  and  you  wish  instead  a  Congress  "to  consider  the  problems  of  the 
Jewish  people." 

A  meeting,  whether  it  be  a  conference  or  a  congress,  thus  called,  without  any 
restriction  as  to  the  questions  to  be  discussed,  would,  I  am  certain,  be  futile  and 
dangerous,  and  national  Jewish  organizations  of  importance,  besides  our  own,  would 
unquestionably  decline  to  enter  any  such  meeting. 

The  problems  of  the  Jewish  people,  both  here  and  in  other  lands,  are  manifold. 
They  have  been  discussed  on  many  occasions.  Some  of  the  most  important  ones 
are  not  capable  of  composition.  Let  me  instance  the  single  yet  important  matter 
of  religion.  There  are  many  people  who  believe  that  Judaism  is  the  kernel  and 
the  Jewish  people  the  shell,  that  our  continued  existence  during  these  twenty  odd 
centuries  of  dispersion  is  due,  in  the  Providence  of  God,  to  the  Jewish  religion. 
Now,  the  Jewish  religion  appears  in  various  phases.  It  has  developed  differences  of 
opinion  in  both  theory  and  practice.  This  has  been  so  for  a  long  time.  Here,  in 
America,  after  many  struggles  and  heart-burnings,  and  in  spite  of  occasional  out- 
breaks, we  have  come  to  recognize  that  upon  these  theological  matters  it  may  be 
advisable  to  agree  to  disagree.  Yet  no  one  would  have  the  right  to  declare  that 

(18) 


the  theory  and  practice  of  Judaism  is  not  a  Jewish  problem,  and  it  could  not  with 
propriety  be  excluded  from  an  unlimited  conference  or  congress. 

Again,  in  the  United  States,  certain  large  organizations  of  Jews  have  been 
created  upon  issues  which  are  purely  economic  and,  indeed,  as  economic  theories 
sometimes  become  part  of  the  practical  politices  of  a  country,  they  may  even  be 
described  as  political.  I  allude  to  the  great  workingmen's  associations,  to  the 
socialistic  societies  and  even  to  those  sections  of  Zionists  who  devote  themselves 
distinctly  to  the  propagation  of  the  socialistic  theory.  Since  they  are  assumed  to  be 
composed  of  Jews  and  to  be  national  in  scope,  these  organizations  are  to  have 
their  representatives  in  the  proposed  conference.  But  I  cannot  for  a  moment  sup- 
pose that  such  a  conference  should  be  thrown  open  to  discussions  of  labor  and 
capital,  hours  of  work,  wages,  or  anything  else  of  that  sort. 

Similar  statements  can  be  made  about  educational  matters,  philanthropic  mat- 
ters, and,  in  fact,  about  all  the  interests  which  our  Jewish  organizations  in  the 
United  States  each  especially  subserves. 

None  can  deny  that  the  one  fact  that  brings  us  together  to-day  is  the  appalling 
condition  of  the  Jews  in  the  lands  engaged  in  the  war,  and  a  consideration  of  how, 
if  at  all,  we  can  best  aid  in  improving  it,  either  now  or  when  this  unhappy  war 
shall  cease. 

I  cannot  conceive  but  that  it  would  be  fraught  with  the  greatest  danger  not 
only  to  the  Jews  of  America  but  also  to  the  Jews  throughout  the  world  if,  just  at 
this  time,  when  even  the  most  deliberate  persons  seem  to  be  under  the  influence  of 
the  prevailing  excitement,  an  unlimited  conference  were  called  for  the  purpose  of 
discussing  the  problems  of  the  Jewish  people. 

The  American  Jewish  Committee  is  not  determining  in  advance  what  measures 
would  best  serve  the  interests  of  the  Jewish  people.  If  it  were  doing  so  it  would 
not  call  for  a  conference  at  all.  It  was  to  secure  a  consensus  of  opinion  as  to 
such  measures  that  it  was  decided  to  assemble  this  Conference,  and  it  was  for  the 
purpose  of  elucidating  this  opinion  that  the  Conference  has  been  limited  in  number. 

Even  on  this  very  point  for  which  the  Conference  is  being  called,  the  American 
Jewish  Committee  has  felt  that  the  Jews  of  America  are  not  the  only  persons  to 
be  consulted,  and  steps  have  been  taken  to  secure  the  opinions  of  leaders  of  all 
sections  of  Jewry  in  belligerent  and  neutral  states  abroad,  so  that  those  may  be 
freely  and  impartially  laid  before  such  a  Conference  in  order  that  we  may  know 
how  persons  intimately  in  touch  with  the  situation  view  the  questions  as  they  have 
actually  arisen. 

There  is  one  point  that  has  not  been  touched  upon  in  our  negotiations  and  pos- 
sibly has  not  been  made  clear  in  our  own  resolutions.  While  it  may  not  make  for 
the  acceptance  on  your  part  of  our  views,  I  nevertheless  feel  obliged,  in  all  frank- 
ness, to  state  it  to  you.  The  Conference  that  we  are  planning  is  to  meet  in  executive 
session,  and  only  the  results  of  its  action  are  to  be  made  known  to  the  public 
through  such  definite  authorized  channels  and  to  the  extent  which  the  Conference 
itself  shall  decide. 

The  inflamed  condition  of  public  opinion  in  Europe  and  in  America,  the  large 
number  of  Jews  in  the  belligerent  lands — nearly  three-fourths  of  the  Jewry  of  the 
entire  world — make  the  possibility  of  intemperate  and  even  ill-considered  speech  so 
great,  that  we  feel  that  we  in  this  country  have  no  right  to  risk  injury  to  our 
unhappy  brethren  abroad  in  these  times. 

In  this  connection,  may  I  call  your  attention  to  an  editorial  in  the  Jewish 
Comment  of  July  16,  which  I  have  no  doubt  is  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Louis  H.  Levin, 
whose  fidelity  to  the  Zionist  cause  is,  I  believe,  not  to  be  questioned,  and  who  has 
recently  returned  from  Palestine,  whither  he  was  sent  on  an  errand  of  mercy 
jo:ntly  by  the  American  Jewish  Relief  Committee  and  the  Zionist  organization.  In 
this  editorial,  the  writer  distinctly  states  that  so  far  as  the  Jewish  inhabitants  of 
Palestine  themselves  are  concerned,  "a  careless  word  can  arouse  suspicion  that 
years  of  peaceful  pursuits  and  consistent  loyalty  cannot  overcome."  In  another 

(19) 


place  he  says:  "The  people  who  are  living  in  Zion  and  are  trying  to  work  out  a 
modus  vivendi  with  the  existing  government,  find  the  beautiful  rhetoric  of  their 
unthinking  friends  sadly  embarrassing." 

You  have  alluded  to  the  widely  expressed  will  of  the  Jews  of  America,  who  have 
demanded  an  unlimited  congress  to  consider  the  problems  of  the  Jewish  people. 
I  venture  to  differ  with  you  as  to  this  "widely  expressed  will."  I  furnished  you 
the  other  day,  in  a  communication,  evidence  that  some  of  this  sentiment  was  being 
manufactured.  The  Federation  of  American  Zionists  in  a  circular  letetr  to  its 
members,  points  out  that  "the  status  of  our  negotiations  with  the  American  Jewish 
Committee  makes  it  desirable  that  every  Zionist  use  his  influence  to  call  local 
conferences,  mass-meetings,  etc.,  to  have  resolutions  adopted  endorsing  unequivocally 
the  resolution  of  the  Provisional  Committee  adopted  in  Boston,"  and  urging  its 
members  to  use  'all  their  energies  "during  the  next  few  weeks  to  secure  such  an 
expression  of  opinion  for  your  (their)  community,  and  that  you  (they)  aid  in 
having  that  opinion  given  the  most  effective  publicity." 

You  are  no  doubt  aware  of  the  fact  that  another  organization,  calling  itself  the 
Jewish  Congress  Organization  Committee,  has  established  a  Congress  Bureau  to 
carry  on  propaganda  in  favor  of  such  a  congress;  that  on  the  small  Executive 
Committee  of  this  Congress  Bureau  are  to  be  found  officials  of  the  Zionist  organiza- 
tions, among  them  the  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Federation  of 
American  Zionists ;  that  committees  have  appeared  before  various  organizations  to 
"stimulate,"  as  it  were,  this  "widely  expressed  will"  of  the  Jews  of  America.  In 
other  words,  a  small  body  of  people  are  carrying  on  a  propaganda  intended  to 
bring  about  a  public  agitation  in  favor  of  a  Congress.  So  that  the  will  of  the 
people  is  as  yet  in  the  making.  Methods  of  this  kind  the  American  Jewish  Com- 
mittee is  unwilling  to  combat. 

In  view  of  all  these  statements  and  the  fact  that  you  are  unwilling  under 
present  circumstances  further  to  confer  with  me;  in  view  of  the  fact  that  already 
on  June  20,  the  American  Jewish  Committee  decided  to  issue  invitations  to  a  Con- 
ference— which,  except  in  two  or  three  cases,  have  been  withheld  at  the  request  of 
Judge  Mack,  to  render  negotiations  with  you  possible — I  feel  obliged  to  issue  the 
invitations  to  all  the  national  Jewish  organizations  in  the  list  handed  to  you,  without 
further  delay.  This  I  have  now  done. 

The  invitation  extended  to  the  Federation  of  American  Zionists  at  its  last 
annual  convention  to  be  represented  at  this  conference  by  seven  delegates,  which 
was  referred  by  the  Federation  to  the  committee  over  which  you  preside,  is  therefore 
still  in  your  hands. 

As  I  am  sure  that  it  is  your  desire  effectively  to  aid  our  unhappy  brethren 
abroad,  at  this  important  juncture,  may  I  not  anticipate  that,  fully  recognizing  that 
there  are  theoretical  differences  between  us  as  to  the  method  and  even  the  scope  of 
such  a  Conference,  you  will  nevertheless  see  your  way  to  urging  upon  your  associates 
the  acceptance  of  the  invitation  and  give  us  the  benefit,  in  conference,  of  your 
advice  and  help. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

(Signed)  CYRUS  ADLER, 
Chairman,  Executive  Committee. 


(20) 


LETTER  OF  LOUIS  D.  BRANDEIS  TO  DR.  CYRUS  ABLER,  DATED 

AUGUST  10TH 

Boston,  Mass.,  August  10th. 
My  dear  Dr.  Adler: 

Absence  on  a  vacation  has  delayed  reply  to  your  letters  dated  July  28th  and 
August  3rd,  which  I  understand  have  been  duly  acknowledged  through  the  Zionist 
Bureau  of  New  England. 

First:  As  to  your  complaint  that  Mr.  Lipsky  was  arranging  meetings  to  urge 
the  holding  of  a  democratic  congress  while  your  and  my  negotiations  were  pend- 
ing, you  are  right  in  assuming  that  Mr.  Lipsky  did  this  without  consulting  me, 
but  I  am  greatly  surprised  that  you  should  find  fault  with  his  action,  for  he  simply 
followed  your  example.  You  cannot  have  forgotten  that  although  you  and  I 
arranged  on  July  7th  for  a  conference  to  be  held  July  12th  to  work  out  some  plan 
of  co-operation,  you  proceeded  on  July  llth  to  commit  the  United  Synagogue  to 
support  the  undemocratic  conference  which  the  American  Jewish  Committee  had 
arranged.  Mr.  Lipsky  knew  that  you  had  done  this  and  naturally  assumed  that  you 
would  not  expect  the  friends  of  a  democratic  congress  to  remain  inactive  while 
you  continued  your  efforts  to  defeat  a  democratic  consideration  of  the  problems 
of  the  Jewish  people. 

Second:  As  to  your  refusal  of  my  request  that  you  call  together  the  full 
committee  to  consider  my  arguments  in  favor  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee's 
co-operating  with  the  other  national  organizations  in  a  congress  to  be  convened  and 
conducted  on  a  democratic  basis;  your  refusal  of  my  request  seems  to  me  most 
regrettable,  for  there  never  was  a  time  when  the  Jewish  people  stood  in  greater 
need  than  now  of  unity  and  of  patient  deliberation.  I  am  the  more  surprised  at 
your  decision  since  at  least  two  members  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee,  Judge 
Mack,  himself  a  vice-president,  and  Dr.  Harry  Friedenwald,  supported  my  request. 
Your  refusal  to  permit  my  arguments  to  be  presented  to  the  full  committee  seems  to 
me  strong  evidence  that  there  exists  in  your  Executive  Committee  that  absolutistic 
spirit  against  which  the  proposers  of  a  democratic  congress  have  so  earnestly 
protested. 

Third:  While  refusing  the  request  for  a  hearing  of  my  arguments  by  your 
full  committee,  you  courteously  renew  the  invitation  to  the  Zionists  to  attend  the 
Conference  at  Washington  which  your  Committee  has  called  for  October  24th. 
The  need  of  wise  counsel  in  Jewish  affairs  and  of  unity  is  now  so  great,  that  I 
should  earnestly  urge  my  associates  to  yield,  where  possible,  their  objections,  and 
attend  your  Conference,  if  I  believed  that  there  was  the  least  likelihood  of  such  a 
Conference  serving  the  Jewish  cause.  But  I  am  convinced  that  the  Conference  which 
you  have  decided  upon  will  be  worse  than  futile;  it  will  be  positively  dangerous 
to  Jewish  interests.  You  state :  "The  Conference  that  we  are  planning  is  to  meet 
in  executive  session,  and  only  the  results  of  its  action  are  to  be  made  known  to 
the  public  through  such  definite  authorized  channels  and  to  the  extent  which  the 
Conference  itself  shall  decide."  Secrecy  necessarily  breeds  suspicion  and  creates 
misunderstanding.  Suspicion  and  misunderstanding  have  been  among  the  greatest 
enemies  of  the  Jews  in  the  past.  A  Conference  conducted  in  secret  sessions,  as 
your  committee  has  decided,  would,  if  generally  participated  in  by  the  Jews  of  this 
country,  prove  a  menace  both  to  them  and  to  the  Jews  of  the  rest  of  the  world.  It 
is  only  through  a  frank  and  open  discussion  of  the  conditions,  the  sufferings,  and 
hopes  of  our  people,  that  we  may  expect  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  non-Jews  in 
our  effort  to  obtain  justice  and  rights.  It  is  only  through  a  congress  convened  and 
conducted  on  a  democratic  basis  that  we  can  expect  to  secure  that  thorough  co- 
operation of  the  Jews  for  self-help  without  which  they  cannot  be  freed  from 
existing  injustice  and  oppression. 

(21) 


Fourth:  You  say  I  err  that  in  assuming  that  in  a  matter  of  this  kind  "the 
American  Jewish  Committee  stands  upon  a  footing  exactly  similar  to  that  of  the 
Federation  of  American  Zionists,  or  other  national  bodies."  On  the  contrary,  I 
was  full  aware  of  the  powers  granted  to  itself  by  the  American  Jewish  Committee 
and  set  forth  in  its  charter,  but  the  process  by  which  the  American  Jewish  Com- 
mittee was  called  into  existence  was  as  undemocratic  as  the  steps  you  have  now 
taken  to  create  a  Jewish  Conference,  and  I  use  the  term  "democratic"  in  the  Amer- 
ican sense  when  I  say  that  an  organization  in  which  a  system  of  self-election  and 
perpetuation  in  office  is  in  vogue,  and  which  meets  always  in  secret  session,  cannot 
properly  be  called  democratic. 

Fifth:  In  spite  of  the  publicity  which  you  have  given  to  your  refusal,  I  renew 
my  request  that  you  call  a  meeting  of  the  full  committee,  to  which  my  arguments 
for  co-operation  in  calling  a  congress  to  be  convened  and  conducted  on  a  demo- 
cratic basis  may  be  presented. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Louis  D.  BRANDEIS. 


The  Schilling  Press,  Inc. 

137-139  E.  25th  St. 

New  York 


(22) 


